Ok OB experts, need some tie-down straps or ratchet straps to haul a sporting clays cart/buggy on a light utility trailer. Founds something like this:

ratchet straps

Any advice on length, style of strap, or how many straps to secure a golf cart for highway towing? I was thinking 3 should do it, two across the cart (side to side) and a third up front securing the front axle to the front tie down slots of the trailer.

You can never have too many.

We have an entire bag of straps (some pull and some racheting) that you could borrow in CS.

We do NOT have any of the super heavy duty car type straps. Just the kind to hold down stuff in the bed of our truck.

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You can never have too many.

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This. I always have a little bag in the toolbox full of about 8-10 of them. Various lengths. Various strength ratings. As long as you take care of them, they last a damn long time.

I will say this. I haul my 4wheeler in the back of my truck down the highway. Because of my toolbox, tailgate is down and the 4wheeler sits partially on the tailgate.

I use 3 of the 4inch wide yellow tow straps:
-1 through the front rack to the front of truck bed
-1 over the seat
-1 through the back rack to the rear of the truck hooks

It is always very secure and had to no problem going 75mph plus
I would imagine doing something similar with a buggie/cart on a trailer

Two should keep the cart (or you) from going anywhere!


Honestly for a light duty cart on a light duty trailer, two or three evenly distributed around the weight of the cart should be sufficient.

A word of warning about using ratchet straps on things like golf carts, rangers, ATV's or other things with long travel suspensions. Remember that the hook on the end (of a strap like you linked) is just hooked over something and the tension on the strap holds it in place. If what you are ratcheting down has a suspension - even when you tighten the piss out of it, it it has any weight at all it has the potential to bounce and if it bounces enough that hook may come unhooked from what you've got it around. For that reason I always make sure to back up my ratchet straps with a safety rope around the front bumper of my Ranger to the front of the trailer.

I've hauled cotton pickers, combines, grain carts, module builders, tractors, and all sorts of implements oversize, overweight, over-everything over the road on drop-decks (yes, that was all chain & boomer); and the only thing I've lost is my Ranger. Luckily the park brake held it until I accelerated away from a stop sign and it gently rolled it's brand-new self right off the back of the trailer into middle of a farm road intersection, unharmed. Somewhere down the road it bounced hard enough the ratchet straps got loose enough to come free from the angle iron they were hooked around.

Lesson learned.

YIKES!

My pride took a big big dent that day. Zero physical damage, but my pride. ouch.

One day we had a load of insulation in the bed of our truck. I thought it would be great to use the tie downs. Significant other said "nah, we don't need them".

They flew out about 1/3 mile down the highway.

I hauled golf carts on a 40' float right after college for several months. We used the pull tight (Cam Buckle) straps only. The connection points were the rear leaf spring hangers and the bolts where the canopy rail attaches to the front of the cart. Never had one of the S hooks come off due to "bouncing", but they were pulled very tight. Make sure the canopy is attached with large fender washers or it may blow off going down the highway.

I agree and it can get dangerous. I think the best solution for an ATV is wheel nets. They eliminate the need to continually check straps. They work on FJ's if you have one of those. Look around in Mac's. I haven't looked at their website in several years but they once had some good videos.

They do work!

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/

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One day we had a load of insulation in the bed of our truck. I thought it would be great to use the tie downs. Significant other said "nah, we don't need them".

They flew out about 1/3 mile down the highway.

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Was moving the wife and I from College Station to where we live now. Had one of those big clothes boxes with the hanger inside to hang the clothes. I tied it down with just some rope and knots. I forgot how top heavy the clothes box was and as we started down hwy 6, the wind caught the box, lifted it out of the tie downs, and took out a couple of other boxes in the process. We had **** scattered all over hwy 6 and had to get the police out to block off traffic so that we could pick up our crap. Only lost some bowls and wine glasses, but I learned the hard way you can never have too many tie-downs.

x2 on Mac's. Great selection of specialty tie-downs.

I regularly pull my Polaris 800 and can tell you the best way I have found to strap down any utv/golf cart is to have a strap pulling directly forward from the front tow mount, another pulling directly backward from the hitch mount or frame and a third strap either over the floorboard or through the metal armrests above the seat. Make sure at after tightening all straps you check each one. The front and rear straps need to be cranked tight enough to compress the suspension (shocks or tires), if not they can come loose if you go over some serious bumps or if the utv bounces during towing. Put the center strap on last after the suspension is compressed. I hope this helps.

I buy my straps from sams club. Something like this:

http://m.samsclub.com/ip/goodyear-ratchet-tie-down-4-pk/prod2210409

Forgot to add, always double or triple wrap the strap over itself around the trailer frame before tightening. This will typically meet the strap on the trailer tight even if the hook works loose. Beware that it will make getting the strap off the trailer very difficult sometimes.

Always buy longer ones than you think you'll need. The more and longer, the better.

The solution to suspension travel causing a hook to come off is to use a rubber bungee strap hooked into each eye on the ratchet or cam buckle strap. Use a bungee that is almost too short. This will keep the hook in place if the suspension travels.

I use both types. If I use a cam buckle, after I snug the strap, I loop back over the buckle the through the eye on the closer hook. Then I come back to the buckle and tie up the strap where there is no way for it to slacken up. I've hauled motorcycles all over the country and never had one dump over. I've had straps loosen a bit but never come off.

Prolly jinxed myself for our October trip to Eureka Springs.

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Two should keep the cart (or you) from going anywhere!


Honestly for a light duty cart on a light duty trailer, two or three evenly distributed around the weight of the cart should be sufficient.

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you know it's bad when my 12 yr old daughter spots the "what's wrong with this picture?" in about 1 second

Just one. Like this.

I use a set up like this.

Trailer with a tailgate is nice insurance. We use a 2x12 cut to width of the back of our low boy util trailer.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Lots of good info on this thread. Would not have thought to pull the windshield off my clays buggy before hauling on the highway. I'll pick up some ratchet straps and be sure to secure to frame and not springs. As always, come to TexAgs for answers, we know stuff.

Nvm, dp

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You think boogs is still pondering the issue a year and a half later?

Yeah, I often get too busy to make decisions on stuff like this, but a year and half later? I pulled the trigger on ratchet straps about 2 weeks after I started this thread..... in 2016.

How in the world did this one get such a rip van winkle level bump?

These are the freaking bomb and well worth the money.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/MTD-511658

....for the next generation. Go this route..especially if you are going to be towing 1000 miles or so.

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/product/atv-wheel-net-pack-with-anchor-assemblies/WheelNets

These are a little more reasonable and work really really well...can be hooked up and ready to roll in about 2 minutes...

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Tire-Tite-System/1978095.uts?slotId=0